February 7, 2013
Lizzy loves to ride the lawnmower with Eb, and has done so she she was just a few months old (she used to excitedly point and grunt her enthusiasm, before she was verbal.)
Today, she finally said it - "lawnmower."
February 8, 2013
Allow me to attempt to paint a picture with words.
When we lay down in bed for the night, I am often propped up on pillows against the headboard, and Elizabeth will lay across me to nurse.
Ever since she has been mobile, she likes to treat nursing time as a gymnastics exercise. I don't mind, as I find it quite comical.
Lately, she has been (while nursing), twisting her body up so that her legs are atop my head, and she is completely inverted.
She will the stop nursing, and proclaim she is a "Baby Hat."
The laughs never end!
At around 1:45 this morning, I rolled over and noticed Lizzy felt very hot to the touch. Huh. Why is she feverish? Hold on, why do I feel like crap myself? Ah, we must be getting sick.
I slept until my alarm went off at 5:45, called my dad to tell him I wasn't feeling well and would be staying home from work with Lizzy, and went back to sleep.
As the day went on, she was acting 97% normal. She did want to nurse nearly constantly, but that's pretty normal when we're home together. I, on the other hand, went from mostly just having a dry cough to cold chills by noon. Yuck!
February 9, 2013
This is the sickest I've been, by far, since I've had Elizabeth. Not sure what it is that we've got. There isn't any vomiting or diarrhea, so it's not Norovirus or the flu. If it's a cold, it's a strange one, without any runny/stuffy nose, but it does have cold chills and fever. Fortunately, while she seems to have a few of the same symptoms I do, her version seems to be much more mild. Thank goodness!
We had to cancel a number of plans today, from Gymboree to visiting/dinner with some good friends who are moving to England. At least what I have isn't slowing Lizzy down too much.
February 10, 2013
No pool today, since Mama feels too yucky and Lizzy has a tiny little cough still. Thankfully, the worst seems over for her.
***PROUD PARENT WARNING - DO NOT READ PAST THIS POINT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE AN OVERDOSE OF "MY BABY IS SO GREAT AND SMART"***
I've been re-reading her website updates that I've made over the past year or so, and I realized something - nearly everything I write about her is positive, painting an idyllic portrait of this child. The reason I do this...is because it's true. She is truly a model toddler.
She very rarely has any sort of temper - if she does, we just tell her to "use her words" and she stops what she's doing and explains why she's frustrated or what is wrong.
She is so rarely sick, and when she is, she bounces back so quickly. We've yet, in nearly 2 years, had to take her to the doctor other than for a scheduled well baby visit.
She has never been violent (kicking, biting, scratching, etc.) with us.
She is a bit shy with strangers, but I have no problem with that at this point in her development.
She's funny. She has a tremendous sense of humor. She creates funny words and phrases to make herself, and us, laugh. On Friday, she made up a word "Tea-tea." It doesn't mean anything, it's just a funny sound to her. So, all weekend she's been saying "Tea-tea" to get us to laugh.
She has empathy. She pats us, hugs us, kisses us, caresses us.
She's kind. When it's time for nursing, she'll say "Hi nunning" to each side. She always says bye to Dada at bedtime, and blows him a kiss. She always offers to share her bites or drinks with us.
She loves to dance, sing, play outside, drive our cars, read, play pretend, and draw.
I know it's probably tiresome to my readers, but she is so tremendously smart. It's sometimes frightening how quickly she's learning things. She can operate locks and keys. She can (nearly) count to 10. She can identify letters. She can sight read a handful of words. Her sentences are logical and easy to understand. She's doing things that 3-year-olds should be doing, and she's not yet 2. I'd say her vocabulary is at least several hundred words, if not 1000. She has opposites mastered - fast and slow, up and down, open and close, on and off, over and under. Colors are mastered. She even was paying attention to the traffic lights the other day, noticed the light was green, relayed this color observation to Dada, and told Dada to drive. You can ask her "Lizzy, where do you socks go?" and she'll say "feet." "Where do your pants go?" "Legs." So, she's making inferences and logical assumptions based on information presented to her.
Potty training, done. Cloth underpants are great.
She also seems to have an interesting inclination towards mechanical items - she'll analyze very carefully HOW something works, at length, until she has it figured out. She likes to take (surprisingly complicated) things apart, study them, and then try to put them back together.
She has a very intense attention span. Long enough to sit through full length films and not lose interest.
Amazing memory. She talks about things that happened months ago.
She's a good eater, and we always joke that she has expensive taste, loving blue cheese, San Pelligrino, arugula, crab, shrimp. However, she doesn't care for "kid food" like macaroni and cheese or fish sticks AT ALL. It's quite funny! We've been very fortunate that she's not terribly picky though, she'll pretty much eat what we present to her.
I don't know whether to attribute all of this to nature or nuture.
On the nurture side of the argument, I just know that this whole parenting thing has come so naturally to me, and I'm so grateful for that. It's almost instinctive - I know what she needs, when she needs it. I have felt so profoundly connected to her since the second I first held her, that it still causes me actual physical pain to be separated from her if I don't really have to be (other than work or a "must do" function.) I know others may not agree with my highly hands-on parenting style, but it has worked well for us, and we have tremendous, beautiful, kind, smart, healthy, perfect toddler to show for it. So, we're doing something right after all (right - FOR US.)
But, on the nature side of it, I remember within minutes of being born, the nurses were telling me how unusually alert and attentive Elizabeth was. That they didn't normally see babies like that. Then, recently, I read this article, which pointed out that in some cases, giftedness is noticeable at birth:
http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/Articles/early_childhood/e10.pdf
Nearly this entire article describes Elizabeth. I often read "well, everyone thinks their child is gifted", but her doctors have commented on her development, so I know it's not just us projecting onto her.
Here are some excerpts that relate to Lizzy:
The most frequent signs of giftedness found in this study included long attention span, excellent memory, early and extensive vocabulary development, curiosity, early reading ability, rapidity of learning, and the ability to generalize concepts (yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes and yes.)
Gifted children tend to be larger and more fully developed as infants than other children. (She started off at 50th percentile at birth (even though she was only 38w3d, and quickly jumped up the percentile table.))
One of the first symptoms which parents notice is their child's unusual alertness. This may begin to appear shortly after birth or it may gradually become more apparent. The child watches and listens intently, absorbing everything that is happening around her. She will focus her eyes on an object for a longer period of time than do other children. This longer attention span will remain characteristic. Parents of older children often mention the intensity of their children's concentration (Oh my goodness, yes. Again, at her 6-day check-up, her pediatrician remarked how unusually attentive she was.)
As early as one month, the child may follow moving objects with her eyes, smile, or make certain sounds other than crying. At two months, she may search for sounds with her eyes, begin to lift her head and chest, move vigorously, anticipate feedings upon seeing a nipple, begin cooing and chuckling. Some infants evidence extremely precocious behavior. I know of two children who smiled on cue at two days old (her first laugh was at 9 days old, first smile at 11 days).
Motor development is often advanced in gifted children. In a study conducted by Cox (1977), three children were reported to have begun to walk at six months of age, a period at which most children are just learning how to sit up. Over 83% of this sample walked before their first birthday, the typical age at which other babies stand or walk only with support. Another interesting finding in Cox's study is that many of the children were ambidextrous for some period of time. (She took her first steps a few days shy of her 6 month birthday, and is currently still ambidextrous.)
The clearest sign of accelerated development is in the area of language. Gifted children tend to speak earlier, use more complex sentence structure, develop a larger vocabulary, show an early interest in books and written works, and express themselves better than other children. In my study, one child said his first word, “hi,” at 4 months of age. One-eighth of the group spoke before their tenth month. Most parents indicated early and extensive vocabulary development (She said "Mama" at 4 months old.)
I think this suffices to prove my point, My heart bursts with pride for this little girl. While I'm with people, I don't like pointing these things out, because I don't want to seem like I'm bragging, or comparing my child with theirs. This is the correct venue for that "proud mama party." :o)
So, I'm faced with both excitement and anxiety about the future. Excitement to see what she can accomplish. Anxiety to find ways to challenge her. I know I was often bored in school, finding it too easy and not challenging in most subjects, even after I was advanced a grade. I don't want her to have the same issues. Hopefully I can provide her with extra enrichment without turning Tiger Mother.
But, for now, I'll just revel in this 21-month-old miracle.
***PROUD PARENT WARNING HAS EXPIRED FOR YOUR AREA***
February 12, 2013
After Eb and Gee took her to get the mail at the post office, she started to nod off in her car seat. Right before her eyes closed, she said "Uh oh!"
February 13, 2013
Her new phrase of choice is now "I want that!"
February 16, 2013
Everything is now "I want that!" It's so helpful, because she sure lets us know what her little heart desires. We went to Gymboree after missing last week due to illness, and had a great time. For dinner, we had Al Basha (Mediterranean cuisine) and she loved it, eating Greek salad and schwarma with me. I love her adventurous palate!
February 17, 2013
A normal, and perfect, Sunday. We got up, had breakfast, and went to the pool for a long while. After our afternoon naps, Dada was getting dressed while we were sitting on our bed. She looked over at him, and so lovingly, she said "My Daddy." She adores him so.
His name morphed last weekend from "Dada" to "Daddy."
We went and had Korean food for dinner. For the first time, she placed her own order with the waiter, telling him she wanted "eggs, please."
February 18, 2013
Today, Lizzy and Eb flew Lizzy's first kite. She loved it. She got to hold the kite and watch it go up and down.
When Dada is out of town for more than 1 or 2 days, I just go stay with Eb and Gee to make it easier on everyone. Normally, when I get to their house, the first thing we must go do is nurse. Not today - she ran to the door yelling "Mama, kite!" We had to immediately go outside and fly the kite. She was so excited to show me!
February 19, 2013
Eb was sitting on the floor, blowing bubbles. Lizzy went behind him, so he couldn't see her, and said "Bubble Hide." This became a new game - standing behind the bubble blower, hiding, and then running around to pop the bubbles. Surely this new game will sweep the nation shortly.
February 20, 2013
Eb and Gee took Lizzy to buy a cupcake for herself, and one for me. She said “and Dada.” Then, once she was there, she made sure to pick a special cupcake for Dada.
When I got home from work, she immediately wanted to show me the “cake.” She told me which one was for Mama, and she pointed at herself and proudly said “me”, indicating she had picked it out for me. Then she showed me Dada’s cupcake. She's such a sweet little considerate angel.
February 21, 2013
I woke up this morning to find Lizzy's finger stuck up my nose. So much for "you can pick your friends, and you an pick your nose, but you can't pick your friends' noses..."
February 22, 2013
Dada got home from the west coast this morning, just in time to go to her first Pacers game tonight. It was a work event, so we were in the Finish Line suite, which was perfect for an almost 2-year old to view the game at her convenience.
We arrived, and we headed over to the buffet to get some food. She picked a chicken quesadilla ("I want that!") and several tomatoes, which all got eaten.
Then we went to the bottom part of the suite - she enjoyed all the action!
Lizzy loves to ride the lawnmower with Eb, and has done so she she was just a few months old (she used to excitedly point and grunt her enthusiasm, before she was verbal.)
Today, she finally said it - "lawnmower."
February 8, 2013
Allow me to attempt to paint a picture with words.
When we lay down in bed for the night, I am often propped up on pillows against the headboard, and Elizabeth will lay across me to nurse.
Ever since she has been mobile, she likes to treat nursing time as a gymnastics exercise. I don't mind, as I find it quite comical.
Lately, she has been (while nursing), twisting her body up so that her legs are atop my head, and she is completely inverted.
She will the stop nursing, and proclaim she is a "Baby Hat."
The laughs never end!
At around 1:45 this morning, I rolled over and noticed Lizzy felt very hot to the touch. Huh. Why is she feverish? Hold on, why do I feel like crap myself? Ah, we must be getting sick.
I slept until my alarm went off at 5:45, called my dad to tell him I wasn't feeling well and would be staying home from work with Lizzy, and went back to sleep.
As the day went on, she was acting 97% normal. She did want to nurse nearly constantly, but that's pretty normal when we're home together. I, on the other hand, went from mostly just having a dry cough to cold chills by noon. Yuck!
February 9, 2013
This is the sickest I've been, by far, since I've had Elizabeth. Not sure what it is that we've got. There isn't any vomiting or diarrhea, so it's not Norovirus or the flu. If it's a cold, it's a strange one, without any runny/stuffy nose, but it does have cold chills and fever. Fortunately, while she seems to have a few of the same symptoms I do, her version seems to be much more mild. Thank goodness!
We had to cancel a number of plans today, from Gymboree to visiting/dinner with some good friends who are moving to England. At least what I have isn't slowing Lizzy down too much.
February 10, 2013
No pool today, since Mama feels too yucky and Lizzy has a tiny little cough still. Thankfully, the worst seems over for her.
***PROUD PARENT WARNING - DO NOT READ PAST THIS POINT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE AN OVERDOSE OF "MY BABY IS SO GREAT AND SMART"***
I've been re-reading her website updates that I've made over the past year or so, and I realized something - nearly everything I write about her is positive, painting an idyllic portrait of this child. The reason I do this...is because it's true. She is truly a model toddler.
She very rarely has any sort of temper - if she does, we just tell her to "use her words" and she stops what she's doing and explains why she's frustrated or what is wrong.
She is so rarely sick, and when she is, she bounces back so quickly. We've yet, in nearly 2 years, had to take her to the doctor other than for a scheduled well baby visit.
She has never been violent (kicking, biting, scratching, etc.) with us.
She is a bit shy with strangers, but I have no problem with that at this point in her development.
She's funny. She has a tremendous sense of humor. She creates funny words and phrases to make herself, and us, laugh. On Friday, she made up a word "Tea-tea." It doesn't mean anything, it's just a funny sound to her. So, all weekend she's been saying "Tea-tea" to get us to laugh.
She has empathy. She pats us, hugs us, kisses us, caresses us.
She's kind. When it's time for nursing, she'll say "Hi nunning" to each side. She always says bye to Dada at bedtime, and blows him a kiss. She always offers to share her bites or drinks with us.
She loves to dance, sing, play outside, drive our cars, read, play pretend, and draw.
I know it's probably tiresome to my readers, but she is so tremendously smart. It's sometimes frightening how quickly she's learning things. She can operate locks and keys. She can (nearly) count to 10. She can identify letters. She can sight read a handful of words. Her sentences are logical and easy to understand. She's doing things that 3-year-olds should be doing, and she's not yet 2. I'd say her vocabulary is at least several hundred words, if not 1000. She has opposites mastered - fast and slow, up and down, open and close, on and off, over and under. Colors are mastered. She even was paying attention to the traffic lights the other day, noticed the light was green, relayed this color observation to Dada, and told Dada to drive. You can ask her "Lizzy, where do you socks go?" and she'll say "feet." "Where do your pants go?" "Legs." So, she's making inferences and logical assumptions based on information presented to her.
Potty training, done. Cloth underpants are great.
She also seems to have an interesting inclination towards mechanical items - she'll analyze very carefully HOW something works, at length, until she has it figured out. She likes to take (surprisingly complicated) things apart, study them, and then try to put them back together.
She has a very intense attention span. Long enough to sit through full length films and not lose interest.
Amazing memory. She talks about things that happened months ago.
She's a good eater, and we always joke that she has expensive taste, loving blue cheese, San Pelligrino, arugula, crab, shrimp. However, she doesn't care for "kid food" like macaroni and cheese or fish sticks AT ALL. It's quite funny! We've been very fortunate that she's not terribly picky though, she'll pretty much eat what we present to her.
I don't know whether to attribute all of this to nature or nuture.
On the nurture side of the argument, I just know that this whole parenting thing has come so naturally to me, and I'm so grateful for that. It's almost instinctive - I know what she needs, when she needs it. I have felt so profoundly connected to her since the second I first held her, that it still causes me actual physical pain to be separated from her if I don't really have to be (other than work or a "must do" function.) I know others may not agree with my highly hands-on parenting style, but it has worked well for us, and we have tremendous, beautiful, kind, smart, healthy, perfect toddler to show for it. So, we're doing something right after all (right - FOR US.)
But, on the nature side of it, I remember within minutes of being born, the nurses were telling me how unusually alert and attentive Elizabeth was. That they didn't normally see babies like that. Then, recently, I read this article, which pointed out that in some cases, giftedness is noticeable at birth:
http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/Articles/early_childhood/e10.pdf
Nearly this entire article describes Elizabeth. I often read "well, everyone thinks their child is gifted", but her doctors have commented on her development, so I know it's not just us projecting onto her.
Here are some excerpts that relate to Lizzy:
The most frequent signs of giftedness found in this study included long attention span, excellent memory, early and extensive vocabulary development, curiosity, early reading ability, rapidity of learning, and the ability to generalize concepts (yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes and yes.)
Gifted children tend to be larger and more fully developed as infants than other children. (She started off at 50th percentile at birth (even though she was only 38w3d, and quickly jumped up the percentile table.))
One of the first symptoms which parents notice is their child's unusual alertness. This may begin to appear shortly after birth or it may gradually become more apparent. The child watches and listens intently, absorbing everything that is happening around her. She will focus her eyes on an object for a longer period of time than do other children. This longer attention span will remain characteristic. Parents of older children often mention the intensity of their children's concentration (Oh my goodness, yes. Again, at her 6-day check-up, her pediatrician remarked how unusually attentive she was.)
As early as one month, the child may follow moving objects with her eyes, smile, or make certain sounds other than crying. At two months, she may search for sounds with her eyes, begin to lift her head and chest, move vigorously, anticipate feedings upon seeing a nipple, begin cooing and chuckling. Some infants evidence extremely precocious behavior. I know of two children who smiled on cue at two days old (her first laugh was at 9 days old, first smile at 11 days).
Motor development is often advanced in gifted children. In a study conducted by Cox (1977), three children were reported to have begun to walk at six months of age, a period at which most children are just learning how to sit up. Over 83% of this sample walked before their first birthday, the typical age at which other babies stand or walk only with support. Another interesting finding in Cox's study is that many of the children were ambidextrous for some period of time. (She took her first steps a few days shy of her 6 month birthday, and is currently still ambidextrous.)
The clearest sign of accelerated development is in the area of language. Gifted children tend to speak earlier, use more complex sentence structure, develop a larger vocabulary, show an early interest in books and written works, and express themselves better than other children. In my study, one child said his first word, “hi,” at 4 months of age. One-eighth of the group spoke before their tenth month. Most parents indicated early and extensive vocabulary development (She said "Mama" at 4 months old.)
I think this suffices to prove my point, My heart bursts with pride for this little girl. While I'm with people, I don't like pointing these things out, because I don't want to seem like I'm bragging, or comparing my child with theirs. This is the correct venue for that "proud mama party." :o)
So, I'm faced with both excitement and anxiety about the future. Excitement to see what she can accomplish. Anxiety to find ways to challenge her. I know I was often bored in school, finding it too easy and not challenging in most subjects, even after I was advanced a grade. I don't want her to have the same issues. Hopefully I can provide her with extra enrichment without turning Tiger Mother.
But, for now, I'll just revel in this 21-month-old miracle.
***PROUD PARENT WARNING HAS EXPIRED FOR YOUR AREA***
February 12, 2013
After Eb and Gee took her to get the mail at the post office, she started to nod off in her car seat. Right before her eyes closed, she said "Uh oh!"
February 13, 2013
Her new phrase of choice is now "I want that!"
February 16, 2013
Everything is now "I want that!" It's so helpful, because she sure lets us know what her little heart desires. We went to Gymboree after missing last week due to illness, and had a great time. For dinner, we had Al Basha (Mediterranean cuisine) and she loved it, eating Greek salad and schwarma with me. I love her adventurous palate!
February 17, 2013
A normal, and perfect, Sunday. We got up, had breakfast, and went to the pool for a long while. After our afternoon naps, Dada was getting dressed while we were sitting on our bed. She looked over at him, and so lovingly, she said "My Daddy." She adores him so.
His name morphed last weekend from "Dada" to "Daddy."
We went and had Korean food for dinner. For the first time, she placed her own order with the waiter, telling him she wanted "eggs, please."
February 18, 2013
Today, Lizzy and Eb flew Lizzy's first kite. She loved it. She got to hold the kite and watch it go up and down.
When Dada is out of town for more than 1 or 2 days, I just go stay with Eb and Gee to make it easier on everyone. Normally, when I get to their house, the first thing we must go do is nurse. Not today - she ran to the door yelling "Mama, kite!" We had to immediately go outside and fly the kite. She was so excited to show me!
February 19, 2013
Eb was sitting on the floor, blowing bubbles. Lizzy went behind him, so he couldn't see her, and said "Bubble Hide." This became a new game - standing behind the bubble blower, hiding, and then running around to pop the bubbles. Surely this new game will sweep the nation shortly.
February 20, 2013
Eb and Gee took Lizzy to buy a cupcake for herself, and one for me. She said “and Dada.” Then, once she was there, she made sure to pick a special cupcake for Dada.
When I got home from work, she immediately wanted to show me the “cake.” She told me which one was for Mama, and she pointed at herself and proudly said “me”, indicating she had picked it out for me. Then she showed me Dada’s cupcake. She's such a sweet little considerate angel.
February 21, 2013
I woke up this morning to find Lizzy's finger stuck up my nose. So much for "you can pick your friends, and you an pick your nose, but you can't pick your friends' noses..."
February 22, 2013
Dada got home from the west coast this morning, just in time to go to her first Pacers game tonight. It was a work event, so we were in the Finish Line suite, which was perfect for an almost 2-year old to view the game at her convenience.
We arrived, and we headed over to the buffet to get some food. She picked a chicken quesadilla ("I want that!") and several tomatoes, which all got eaten.
Then we went to the bottom part of the suite - she enjoyed all the action!
Then we sat in the main suite area to eat more. But she kept craning her neck and trying to hop off the chair to rejoin the action!
Lizzy and Dada.
It turns out that Lizzy and I made it on National TV! The announcer apparently said "What a pretty little girl" and we were on TV for about 5 seconds. Thousands of people got to enjoy her pretty little face.
Apparently Lizzy functions as some sort of good luck charm for the Pacers.
At half time, Dada took Lizzy down to the gift shop. At the Pacers' gift shop, there is a gigantic basketball hanging from the ceiling.
Once they got back up to the suite, for the next 20 minutes all I heard was "Big ball! Big ball! Dada, go! Big ball! Mama, go! Big ball!"
So, we said our goodbyes to my coworkers and went down to the gift shop once more before leaving.
I grabbed this video of Dada and Lizzy walking down the hallway, leaving the suites. If you listen carefully, you'll hear her saying "Big ball!"
Once we were down there, she made sure I saw the big ball. I love how, in this video, I ask her to show me, so she grabs my phone and turns it around to point it at the ball. There, Mama, see it now?
10 minutes later, and she's still yelling about the Big Ball.
Needless to say, she had a tremendous time at the game. Of course, she loves doing anything new and fun, but this was a great time!
February 23, 2013
We did our normal Saturday morning Gymboree routine. After naps, we went to Red Robin for dinner, where she ordered broccoli from the menu. The waitress brought out some fries for us to eat while we waited, and Lizzy ate some. But, once her broccoli came out, she lost interest in those in favor of the broccoli. Broccoli over fries? What a crazy toddler!
February 24, 2013
We spent some of this morning watching videos of character greetings at Disney World, to get her prepared to meet the characters there. She LOVED watching these, especially watching the Pluto character dance.
We practiced what we're going to say to the different characters. For Minnie and Daisy, she wants to tell them she likes their bows. For Goofy and Donald, she's going to tell them she likes their hats. She wants to shake Mickey's hand, and ask Pluto to dance. And for Chip and Dale, she's going to tell them she brought them some nuts.
On our way to the pool, we were singing Deck the Halls (one of her favorite songs for some reason.) Here she is singing "Fa la la la la, la la la la."
This weekend, "Mama" fully transitioned over to "Mommy." I'm not sure why this made me so sad, but it did.
February 25, 2013
Eb bought her some tiny little cupcakes from the grocery store. She declared these to be "Baby cakes."
She also said "porcupine" today - it was a funny word that made her giggle.
This girl loves life.
Once they got back up to the suite, for the next 20 minutes all I heard was "Big ball! Big ball! Dada, go! Big ball! Mama, go! Big ball!"
So, we said our goodbyes to my coworkers and went down to the gift shop once more before leaving.
I grabbed this video of Dada and Lizzy walking down the hallway, leaving the suites. If you listen carefully, you'll hear her saying "Big ball!"
Once we were down there, she made sure I saw the big ball. I love how, in this video, I ask her to show me, so she grabs my phone and turns it around to point it at the ball. There, Mama, see it now?
10 minutes later, and she's still yelling about the Big Ball.
Needless to say, she had a tremendous time at the game. Of course, she loves doing anything new and fun, but this was a great time!
February 23, 2013
We did our normal Saturday morning Gymboree routine. After naps, we went to Red Robin for dinner, where she ordered broccoli from the menu. The waitress brought out some fries for us to eat while we waited, and Lizzy ate some. But, once her broccoli came out, she lost interest in those in favor of the broccoli. Broccoli over fries? What a crazy toddler!
February 24, 2013
We spent some of this morning watching videos of character greetings at Disney World, to get her prepared to meet the characters there. She LOVED watching these, especially watching the Pluto character dance.
We practiced what we're going to say to the different characters. For Minnie and Daisy, she wants to tell them she likes their bows. For Goofy and Donald, she's going to tell them she likes their hats. She wants to shake Mickey's hand, and ask Pluto to dance. And for Chip and Dale, she's going to tell them she brought them some nuts.
On our way to the pool, we were singing Deck the Halls (one of her favorite songs for some reason.) Here she is singing "Fa la la la la, la la la la."
This weekend, "Mama" fully transitioned over to "Mommy." I'm not sure why this made me so sad, but it did.
February 25, 2013
Eb bought her some tiny little cupcakes from the grocery store. She declared these to be "Baby cakes."
She also said "porcupine" today - it was a funny word that made her giggle.
This girl loves life.
In the evening, Lizzy kept tugging at her underpants, and we couldn't figure out why. She hadn't gone potty in her pants, they didn't seem to be ill-fitting, so we couldn't figure out why she was doing that.
When we went to take her underpants off for bath time, the reason became clear. She had put 9 pennies down her underpants at some point in the day.
When we went to take her underpants off for bath time, the reason became clear. She had put 9 pennies down her underpants at some point in the day.
February 26, 2013
As she and I were laying in bed preparing to fall asleep, I started telling her in great detail, for probably 10 solid minutes (because I could tell she was listening closely) about our coming trip. What the plane ride would be like, how we'd play on the beach, how we would meet Mickey and Donald. After I was done she stopped nursing to say "Mama, more talk." I then spent another 10 minutes telling her everything again, after which she fell asleep.
I'd have loved to known what she was imagining as I was telling her everything.
February 27, 2013
Lizzy got a hold of Gee's camera, and started taking pictures. She first took a picture of Eb, and then turned the camera on herself, made a scrunchy face, and "click."
As she and I were laying in bed preparing to fall asleep, I started telling her in great detail, for probably 10 solid minutes (because I could tell she was listening closely) about our coming trip. What the plane ride would be like, how we'd play on the beach, how we would meet Mickey and Donald. After I was done she stopped nursing to say "Mama, more talk." I then spent another 10 minutes telling her everything again, after which she fell asleep.
I'd have loved to known what she was imagining as I was telling her everything.
February 27, 2013
Lizzy got a hold of Gee's camera, and started taking pictures. She first took a picture of Eb, and then turned the camera on herself, made a scrunchy face, and "click."
It has become sadly apparent that she is outgrowing her 2T shirts. She's been in size 2T for a long time, but her torso is so long, that we'd noticed many of her shirts being too short and showing her belly.
Today, her favorite Minnie Mouse shirt has about a 1" gap between the bottom of her shirt and the top of her pants.
So, while 2T pants still fit, it's time to move on to 3T shirts.
March 1, 2013
Dada came home after his 2nd West Coast trip in as many weeks, and she woke up from her nap to see him. "Hi Dada!"
Today I noticed that "I want that" has been joined by the following phrases:
I want eat
I want go
I want down
I want up
Hooray for clear, easy communication!
She's started saying "Ta da" when she goes up the stairs by herself. It's so unbelievably cute.
Before she fell asleep, she said "Bye bye eyes."
March 2, 2013
Today at Gymboree they were pretending to be ducks. She LOVES ducks, and had a great time pretending to quack and waddle.
For dinner, we went to the big buffet on 96th street that we want so much. She chose coconut shrimp, broccoli, and oranges. Afterwards, she chose a cookie and (for the first time ever) a strawberry!
March 3, 2013
Another perfect Sunday. We went to the pool, then played for a LONG time on Dada's racing seat in the basement.
Today, her favorite Minnie Mouse shirt has about a 1" gap between the bottom of her shirt and the top of her pants.
So, while 2T pants still fit, it's time to move on to 3T shirts.
March 1, 2013
Dada came home after his 2nd West Coast trip in as many weeks, and she woke up from her nap to see him. "Hi Dada!"
Today I noticed that "I want that" has been joined by the following phrases:
I want eat
I want go
I want down
I want up
Hooray for clear, easy communication!
She's started saying "Ta da" when she goes up the stairs by herself. It's so unbelievably cute.
Before she fell asleep, she said "Bye bye eyes."
March 2, 2013
Today at Gymboree they were pretending to be ducks. She LOVES ducks, and had a great time pretending to quack and waddle.
For dinner, we went to the big buffet on 96th street that we want so much. She chose coconut shrimp, broccoli, and oranges. Afterwards, she chose a cookie and (for the first time ever) a strawberry!
March 3, 2013
Another perfect Sunday. We went to the pool, then played for a LONG time on Dada's racing seat in the basement.
As we were going back upstairs, I managed to capture a "ta da" once she had reached the summit. Granted, she did it when she was out of view of the camera, but then she recreated it after I prompted her. Sometimes I'm surprised I don't eat her, because she's just so delectably perfect.
http://www.viddy.com/video/fa8aeed1-0916-43ee-8c60-f6d8a78667fe
March 5, 2013
It started snowing in the late afternoon, so Lizzy, Eb and me went out to make a snowman. After we had our 3 tiers done, she kept getting little baby handfuls of snow to keep piling it on his head.
We were having so much fun doing "ring around the rosy", and every time we'd all fall down she'd sit and say "Oh No! Boom!", making sure to land on one of the numbers on her hopscotch mat. She's also make sure as we were going around and around to stare in the mirror the entire time. This went on for awhile, and was making us all laugh so. Thusly, I had to capture a video of it. Notice how she's staring in the mirror the whole time.
"Oh no, boom!"
March 6, 2013
Eb got my old tricycle, which had been a gift to me as a small child from my late Grandfather, down from the attic. It's still in really good condition, although it needed new pedals. We found some on ebay, and they arrived today. After installing them, it was time to learn to ride! She does do really well when not all bundled up in her snow gear - the bulkiness makes it a challenge. She calls it her "bikey" and goes "bikey bikey bikey" as she rides.
Learning to ride her "bikey"
She likes to look through binoculars now, and calls them "nockers."
Lizzy had a little booger in her nose (which she calls "buh buhs"). She went into the bathroom by herself, got the box of Kleenex off the shelf, put it on the floor, got one Kleenex out, used it to extract the buh buh, and then placed the Kleenex in the trash can. What a good girl!
March 8, 2013
I called Eb through the day to check on Lizzy, and they were on their way to feed the ducks. As I called, they were passing under the sign for highway 38. I heard her in the background yelling "Three Eight!" She can read numbers, no problem.
March 9, 2013
We all got up early Saturday morning and Lizzy was so happy to see her Dada. She told him she wanted him to make her a "hot bubble bath." When he wasn't moving fast enough for her liking, she shouted and pointed, "DADA, GO!" Needless to say, he got up to go make her her hot bubble bath.
We went to Gymboree, where she read the numbers 1 - 5 for her Dada. He's normally pretty hard to impress, but even he said that was "pretty good for a not yet 2 year old."
Dada made Shepherd's pie for dinner. Lizzy LOVES peas . She asked for "more peas please," and then proceeded to laugh about how funny "peas please" sounds, and said that for the rest of the night.
March 10, 2013
She didn' t want to go to the pool today for some reason, so instead we went to Hamilton Town Center to shop for new spring clothes. While there, we discovered a nursing room on site. How many years have we been going there and didn't know there was a nice room to nurse? While we were sitting there nursing, I got out my phone to look at my countdown app. She started counting backwards, 9 to 1!
March 11, 2013
When I call to check on Lizzy through the day, she answer the phone with "Hi Mommy", and hangs up with "Bye bye Mommy." I love hearing her sweet voice through the day.
March 12, 2013
Her new word today was "yo yo."
We got Chinese for dinner, and I got our normal House Special Mai Fun, which is thin noodles with shrimp, pork, and chicken. She ate EVERY ONE OF MY SHRIMP, and kept asking for "two more shrimp." I guess next time I won't get the one with the mixed meat, I'll get shrimp only!
We played Beatles Rock Band as a family for the first time - here she is drumming :o)
March 13, 2013
I was FINALLY able to capture a video of her counting from 1 - 5.
March 14, 2013
We went to Famous Dave's for dinner, and she ate so much. She ate chips, and ENTIRE ear of corn, chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and half a cornbread muffin. That little belly was so full!
Afterwards, we came home and had a rousing game of hide and seek. "More hide!" She's a very good seeker.
March 15, 2013
Three new words this morning in the span of 2 minutes - Monkey, Giraffe, and "Nakey (naked).
She cannot get enough of being outside, no matter how cold it might be.
http://www.viddy.com/video/fa8aeed1-0916-43ee-8c60-f6d8a78667fe
March 5, 2013
It started snowing in the late afternoon, so Lizzy, Eb and me went out to make a snowman. After we had our 3 tiers done, she kept getting little baby handfuls of snow to keep piling it on his head.
We were having so much fun doing "ring around the rosy", and every time we'd all fall down she'd sit and say "Oh No! Boom!", making sure to land on one of the numbers on her hopscotch mat. She's also make sure as we were going around and around to stare in the mirror the entire time. This went on for awhile, and was making us all laugh so. Thusly, I had to capture a video of it. Notice how she's staring in the mirror the whole time.
"Oh no, boom!"
March 6, 2013
Eb got my old tricycle, which had been a gift to me as a small child from my late Grandfather, down from the attic. It's still in really good condition, although it needed new pedals. We found some on ebay, and they arrived today. After installing them, it was time to learn to ride! She does do really well when not all bundled up in her snow gear - the bulkiness makes it a challenge. She calls it her "bikey" and goes "bikey bikey bikey" as she rides.
Learning to ride her "bikey"
She likes to look through binoculars now, and calls them "nockers."
Lizzy had a little booger in her nose (which she calls "buh buhs"). She went into the bathroom by herself, got the box of Kleenex off the shelf, put it on the floor, got one Kleenex out, used it to extract the buh buh, and then placed the Kleenex in the trash can. What a good girl!
March 8, 2013
I called Eb through the day to check on Lizzy, and they were on their way to feed the ducks. As I called, they were passing under the sign for highway 38. I heard her in the background yelling "Three Eight!" She can read numbers, no problem.
March 9, 2013
We all got up early Saturday morning and Lizzy was so happy to see her Dada. She told him she wanted him to make her a "hot bubble bath." When he wasn't moving fast enough for her liking, she shouted and pointed, "DADA, GO!" Needless to say, he got up to go make her her hot bubble bath.
We went to Gymboree, where she read the numbers 1 - 5 for her Dada. He's normally pretty hard to impress, but even he said that was "pretty good for a not yet 2 year old."
Dada made Shepherd's pie for dinner. Lizzy LOVES peas . She asked for "more peas please," and then proceeded to laugh about how funny "peas please" sounds, and said that for the rest of the night.
March 10, 2013
She didn' t want to go to the pool today for some reason, so instead we went to Hamilton Town Center to shop for new spring clothes. While there, we discovered a nursing room on site. How many years have we been going there and didn't know there was a nice room to nurse? While we were sitting there nursing, I got out my phone to look at my countdown app. She started counting backwards, 9 to 1!
March 11, 2013
When I call to check on Lizzy through the day, she answer the phone with "Hi Mommy", and hangs up with "Bye bye Mommy." I love hearing her sweet voice through the day.
March 12, 2013
Her new word today was "yo yo."
We got Chinese for dinner, and I got our normal House Special Mai Fun, which is thin noodles with shrimp, pork, and chicken. She ate EVERY ONE OF MY SHRIMP, and kept asking for "two more shrimp." I guess next time I won't get the one with the mixed meat, I'll get shrimp only!
We played Beatles Rock Band as a family for the first time - here she is drumming :o)
March 13, 2013
I was FINALLY able to capture a video of her counting from 1 - 5.
March 14, 2013
We went to Famous Dave's for dinner, and she ate so much. She ate chips, and ENTIRE ear of corn, chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and half a cornbread muffin. That little belly was so full!
Afterwards, we came home and had a rousing game of hide and seek. "More hide!" She's a very good seeker.
March 15, 2013
Three new words this morning in the span of 2 minutes - Monkey, Giraffe, and "Nakey (naked).
She cannot get enough of being outside, no matter how cold it might be.
Dada had the brilliant idea tonight to take her to the pet shop to see puppies. We saw puppies, fishies, and a "bun" (rabbit.) She loved it, and kept having us take her between the puppies and fishes. When we left, she made us go back in ("I want go in"), so we turned around and went right back in for round 2.
After we finally left, she was so excited that she asked to call Eb and Gee Gee so she could tell them about what she'd seen.
March 16, 2013
We had Gymboree in the morning, followed by wonderful afternoon nap time. We went to the pool today, since Dada had to leave on Sunday. She liked getting in the bigger, cold lap pool for some reason, even asking to leave the warm play pool to go into the "cold pool" with the "two clocks." We had fun spinning around and she'd say she was "dizzy!"
March 17, 2013
When we woke up, Lizzy watched the first Formula One race of the season with me. Start to finish. She LOVES to watch cars. She's a serious gearhead.
We went to our friends' house for St. Patrick's Day festivities, and Lizzy spotted the "green cupcakes" right away and asked for one by name.
Before her nap, she asked both me and Dada if we would "both tee-tee." (Tee Tee is what she calls tickle now, since that's the noise Dada makes when he tickles her.) We obliged!
Before she fell asleep, we were talking about Dada's favorite things. I asked her about his favorite food, drink, color, and word. Her answers were "cake, beer, black and toe", respectively. Silly girl.
March 18, 2013
For some reason she saw a cookie that she thought looked like Dada. It did have 2 chocolate chips in the rough location of eyes, so perhaps she was on to something.
After we finally left, she was so excited that she asked to call Eb and Gee Gee so she could tell them about what she'd seen.
March 16, 2013
We had Gymboree in the morning, followed by wonderful afternoon nap time. We went to the pool today, since Dada had to leave on Sunday. She liked getting in the bigger, cold lap pool for some reason, even asking to leave the warm play pool to go into the "cold pool" with the "two clocks." We had fun spinning around and she'd say she was "dizzy!"
March 17, 2013
When we woke up, Lizzy watched the first Formula One race of the season with me. Start to finish. She LOVES to watch cars. She's a serious gearhead.
We went to our friends' house for St. Patrick's Day festivities, and Lizzy spotted the "green cupcakes" right away and asked for one by name.
Before her nap, she asked both me and Dada if we would "both tee-tee." (Tee Tee is what she calls tickle now, since that's the noise Dada makes when he tickles her.) We obliged!
Before she fell asleep, we were talking about Dada's favorite things. I asked her about his favorite food, drink, color, and word. Her answers were "cake, beer, black and toe", respectively. Silly girl.
March 18, 2013
For some reason she saw a cookie that she thought looked like Dada. It did have 2 chocolate chips in the rough location of eyes, so perhaps she was on to something.
She loves bacon.
When we were brushing our teeth before bed, I grabbed her toothbrush to ensure they got a good scrubbing. She moved her head while I was brushing, so I accidentally ended up brushing her nose. This was the funniest thing ever, and had to be re-enacted for both Eb and Gee Gee. Then she wanted to call Dada to tell him about brushing her nose.
This was the second phone call to Dada today, the first being a call so she could tell him that "Bella poops outside, butt." The things that are important to a toddler...
March 19, 2013
She got her first pet today. After several hours of deliberation, she named her blue betta fish "Oatmeal."
Naturally, she had to call Dada to inform him of this news. She always wants to call Dada and tell him important things.
March 20, 2013
We always joke that Elizabeth is going to be an engineer. She has exhibited some pretty astonishing mechanical aptitude, and is a tremendous problem solver.
We were nursing, and when we nurse, she always asks for "both." I was having trouble holding my shirt out of the way so she could have both, and this was frustrating both of us. She sat up, looked at the problem, and said "bow." Ah, brilliant! She wanted me to get a hair clip to hold my shirt up. Gee Gee went and got a hair clip, and sure enough, it worked. When she saw the result of her suggestion, she said with a "I told you so" sort of tone, "bow."
My Aunt Monica came to Eb and Gee's for a visit with Lizzy. Lizzy was quite the little show off, showing Monica her toys and then counting for her on the hopscotch mat. Give this girl an audience, and she's "on!"
Eb made pork chops for dinner, which were really yummy. After she had a bite, it was clear she liked them. In between giving her an initial bite and sitting down to feed her dinner, we threw some chop remnants out to the dogs. Lizzy thought we were throwing her pork chop away and started crying "bye bye mine." Oh baby, we wouldn't throw your dinner away!
March 22, 2013
After Elizabeth ate all of the shrimp out of my Chinese noodle dinner last time, I decided to not get the "house special" with the mixed meat, but to get all shrimp next time. Well, this proved to be a wise decision, as she ate nearly every shrimp out of my dinner again. I asked her how many she wanted and she said "fifteen."
March 23, 2013
We had a tremendously perfect day.
We woke up and went to the school for a pancake breakfast, and she ate a few bites of pancakes and hash browns. Then to Gymboree, then home for a nice nap and lunch. It was SO BEAUTIFUL outside, so we all went across to our neighborhood playground. We were the only ones there, so we all played on the swings (she wanted both me and Dada to swing too), then played chase and hide and seek. It was so pretty that we didn’t want to go back inside, so Dada suggested we take a walk. She hadn’t been in her stroller since the fall, so I wasn’t sure if she’d like it. I could not have been more wrong! We got her all bundled up, and she loved every second of it. We walked down to the doughnut shop to get breakfast for Sunday, and every time we stopped to adjust her, she said “Dada, go!” or “Green go!”
Once at the shop, we ate some doughnuts, and she loved the chocolate/peanut butter one I had chosen, taking giant bites. We walked back home and she almost fell asleep, holding my hand with the sun on her face. We got back home, and she wanted “more ride.” After a little bit of play, we decided to drive around and find somewhere for dinner that didn’t look too crowded. We ended up at Chili’s, where they had tabletop entertainment devices and a yummy menu. It was a great choice! Then we went to Best Buy, where she decided to play chase around the aisles. It wasn’t crowded, so it was pretty fun!
It was another day where I was sad when she fell asleep. It was such a perfect day.
March 25, 2013
We got a good 9 inches of snow, so it was a perfect excuse for a snow day! We played outside, building a snowman and dressing him with her Frosty hat. We brought buckets of snow inside, and would bury her Mickey toys inside, and then take them to the sink to melt the snow away to reveal the hidden toy inside. Such fun!
She LOVES to play chase, and has been asking "Chase me please!"
In the evening, she rounded up Eb, Gee Gee and me, brought us all pillows and books, and made us lay on the floor on our pillows and read the books she had selected for each of us.
March 26, 2013
Hello, gorgeous.
This was the second phone call to Dada today, the first being a call so she could tell him that "Bella poops outside, butt." The things that are important to a toddler...
March 19, 2013
She got her first pet today. After several hours of deliberation, she named her blue betta fish "Oatmeal."
Naturally, she had to call Dada to inform him of this news. She always wants to call Dada and tell him important things.
March 20, 2013
We always joke that Elizabeth is going to be an engineer. She has exhibited some pretty astonishing mechanical aptitude, and is a tremendous problem solver.
We were nursing, and when we nurse, she always asks for "both." I was having trouble holding my shirt out of the way so she could have both, and this was frustrating both of us. She sat up, looked at the problem, and said "bow." Ah, brilliant! She wanted me to get a hair clip to hold my shirt up. Gee Gee went and got a hair clip, and sure enough, it worked. When she saw the result of her suggestion, she said with a "I told you so" sort of tone, "bow."
My Aunt Monica came to Eb and Gee's for a visit with Lizzy. Lizzy was quite the little show off, showing Monica her toys and then counting for her on the hopscotch mat. Give this girl an audience, and she's "on!"
Eb made pork chops for dinner, which were really yummy. After she had a bite, it was clear she liked them. In between giving her an initial bite and sitting down to feed her dinner, we threw some chop remnants out to the dogs. Lizzy thought we were throwing her pork chop away and started crying "bye bye mine." Oh baby, we wouldn't throw your dinner away!
March 22, 2013
After Elizabeth ate all of the shrimp out of my Chinese noodle dinner last time, I decided to not get the "house special" with the mixed meat, but to get all shrimp next time. Well, this proved to be a wise decision, as she ate nearly every shrimp out of my dinner again. I asked her how many she wanted and she said "fifteen."
March 23, 2013
We had a tremendously perfect day.
We woke up and went to the school for a pancake breakfast, and she ate a few bites of pancakes and hash browns. Then to Gymboree, then home for a nice nap and lunch. It was SO BEAUTIFUL outside, so we all went across to our neighborhood playground. We were the only ones there, so we all played on the swings (she wanted both me and Dada to swing too), then played chase and hide and seek. It was so pretty that we didn’t want to go back inside, so Dada suggested we take a walk. She hadn’t been in her stroller since the fall, so I wasn’t sure if she’d like it. I could not have been more wrong! We got her all bundled up, and she loved every second of it. We walked down to the doughnut shop to get breakfast for Sunday, and every time we stopped to adjust her, she said “Dada, go!” or “Green go!”
Once at the shop, we ate some doughnuts, and she loved the chocolate/peanut butter one I had chosen, taking giant bites. We walked back home and she almost fell asleep, holding my hand with the sun on her face. We got back home, and she wanted “more ride.” After a little bit of play, we decided to drive around and find somewhere for dinner that didn’t look too crowded. We ended up at Chili’s, where they had tabletop entertainment devices and a yummy menu. It was a great choice! Then we went to Best Buy, where she decided to play chase around the aisles. It wasn’t crowded, so it was pretty fun!
It was another day where I was sad when she fell asleep. It was such a perfect day.
March 25, 2013
We got a good 9 inches of snow, so it was a perfect excuse for a snow day! We played outside, building a snowman and dressing him with her Frosty hat. We brought buckets of snow inside, and would bury her Mickey toys inside, and then take them to the sink to melt the snow away to reveal the hidden toy inside. Such fun!
She LOVES to play chase, and has been asking "Chase me please!"
In the evening, she rounded up Eb, Gee Gee and me, brought us all pillows and books, and made us lay on the floor on our pillows and read the books she had selected for each of us.
March 26, 2013
Hello, gorgeous.
March 27, 2013
More "Mama, chase me please!" She loves to play chase! We need to get her around some friends that she can play chase with, because it wears us old people out :o)
She was counting in her sleep - "Six...Eight...Nine...Ten."
March 29, 2013
Dada came home very late last night, so this morning when she saw her Dada in bed, she smiled, waved at him, and then climbed over to him for a long cuddle. She loves when he is home.
April 1, 2013
Everything has been "Hey, look!" lately when she wants us to look at something.
Poop is still a favorite topic of conversation. She will tell you that poop is "Yucky, stinky. Pee-yew!"
April 2, 2013
As I was driving to drop her off with Ed and Gee Gee, I pointed out to her a big tree on our drive. She started then pointing out every "big tree" in sight, and was fixated on this notion the rest of the day. She wanted Ed to put her in a tree at their house, and she loved it!
Once we were home, she said she needed to poop, but had already started a little bit by the time we got to the potty. I never yell at her or make her feel bad, but I said "uh oh, there's a little bit of poop in your underpants" (not in a mean way at all.) She said "I'm sorry."
Oh sweet baby girl, you have nothing to be sorry about!
April 3, 2013
More "Mama, chase me please!" She loves to play chase! We need to get her around some friends that she can play chase with, because it wears us old people out :o)
She was counting in her sleep - "Six...Eight...Nine...Ten."
March 29, 2013
Dada came home very late last night, so this morning when she saw her Dada in bed, she smiled, waved at him, and then climbed over to him for a long cuddle. She loves when he is home.
April 1, 2013
Everything has been "Hey, look!" lately when she wants us to look at something.
Poop is still a favorite topic of conversation. She will tell you that poop is "Yucky, stinky. Pee-yew!"
April 2, 2013
As I was driving to drop her off with Ed and Gee Gee, I pointed out to her a big tree on our drive. She started then pointing out every "big tree" in sight, and was fixated on this notion the rest of the day. She wanted Ed to put her in a tree at their house, and she loved it!
Once we were home, she said she needed to poop, but had already started a little bit by the time we got to the potty. I never yell at her or make her feel bad, but I said "uh oh, there's a little bit of poop in your underpants" (not in a mean way at all.) She said "I'm sorry."
Oh sweet baby girl, you have nothing to be sorry about!
April 3, 2013
This sweet girl is always happy, always smiling. I love that she enjoys her life so.
We were practicing naming things that are certain colors. I asked her to tell me something that was brown, thinking she'd say something like "bear" or "chocolate."
Nope.
"Eyes and poop."
April 4, 2013
I arrived at our meeting point to pick her up, and she immediately shouted " Mama! Bella bee!" Apparently Bella had eaten a bee earlier that day, and she could not wait to tell me about it.
April 5, 2013
I asked Lizzy what she wanted for dinner. No surprise, she answered "shrimp", which has become a favorite.
I had driven past a new restaurant on my way home called the Flying Shrimp. I thought we'd give it a try. While the food and service were a little disappointing, she ate shrimp, bread, and sweet potato tots. Afterwards, we went to get some frozen yogurt. I love that she will tell us what she wants to eat.
April 6, 2013
After Gymboree, we went home and had a lovely 2.5 hour nap. We went to get her a new slide for her to play with in the basement (since she loves slides), and then we went to Shapiro's for dinner. The lady behind the counter gave her a cup so she could pick something from the select-a-fountain. We normally don't give her soda (just milk or water, and juice once a week as a special treat), so we let her get some sparkling water with peach flavoring. She loved it!
Once we got home, she played on her slide for hours, and then watched Sleeping Beauty.
April 7, 2013
Sunday morning we got up and it was BEAUTIFUL! Our first truly Springy day. So, we rode our bikes to go get doughnuts, and came home to eat them outside. Then off to the pool for over an hour of swimming. We grabbed Subway for lunch, but when we got home she was so sleepy that we went ahead and lay on the couch for a 2 hour nap.
Today she was really showing interest in shapes. She was showing me circles and rectangles around the house.
I pointed out to Dada that she is appropriately using pronouns, definite articles (“the”), nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs (“too.”) The majority of the time, the words are wrapped up in correct sentence structure and word order. She's got this talking thing down.
Before she fell asleep, she said “See you soon.” She is too cute for words.
April 8, 2013
We were playing in the basement, when she grabbed the blue shell from her shape sorting turtle. She decided to put it on her head like a hat. She was being so silly. I caught this video of her. She starts off by saying "I got a hat" in this silly high-pitched voice that is completely NOT her normal speaking voice. Silly girl!
I got a hat
April 9, 2013
It's always nice to hear from family, friends, and strangers how beautiful Elizabeth is. However, even if I don't hear it, I know she's gorgeous. Look at this face.
We were practicing naming things that are certain colors. I asked her to tell me something that was brown, thinking she'd say something like "bear" or "chocolate."
Nope.
"Eyes and poop."
April 4, 2013
I arrived at our meeting point to pick her up, and she immediately shouted " Mama! Bella bee!" Apparently Bella had eaten a bee earlier that day, and she could not wait to tell me about it.
April 5, 2013
I asked Lizzy what she wanted for dinner. No surprise, she answered "shrimp", which has become a favorite.
I had driven past a new restaurant on my way home called the Flying Shrimp. I thought we'd give it a try. While the food and service were a little disappointing, she ate shrimp, bread, and sweet potato tots. Afterwards, we went to get some frozen yogurt. I love that she will tell us what she wants to eat.
April 6, 2013
After Gymboree, we went home and had a lovely 2.5 hour nap. We went to get her a new slide for her to play with in the basement (since she loves slides), and then we went to Shapiro's for dinner. The lady behind the counter gave her a cup so she could pick something from the select-a-fountain. We normally don't give her soda (just milk or water, and juice once a week as a special treat), so we let her get some sparkling water with peach flavoring. She loved it!
Once we got home, she played on her slide for hours, and then watched Sleeping Beauty.
April 7, 2013
Sunday morning we got up and it was BEAUTIFUL! Our first truly Springy day. So, we rode our bikes to go get doughnuts, and came home to eat them outside. Then off to the pool for over an hour of swimming. We grabbed Subway for lunch, but when we got home she was so sleepy that we went ahead and lay on the couch for a 2 hour nap.
Today she was really showing interest in shapes. She was showing me circles and rectangles around the house.
I pointed out to Dada that she is appropriately using pronouns, definite articles (“the”), nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs (“too.”) The majority of the time, the words are wrapped up in correct sentence structure and word order. She's got this talking thing down.
Before she fell asleep, she said “See you soon.” She is too cute for words.
April 8, 2013
We were playing in the basement, when she grabbed the blue shell from her shape sorting turtle. She decided to put it on her head like a hat. She was being so silly. I caught this video of her. She starts off by saying "I got a hat" in this silly high-pitched voice that is completely NOT her normal speaking voice. Silly girl!
I got a hat
April 9, 2013
It's always nice to hear from family, friends, and strangers how beautiful Elizabeth is. However, even if I don't hear it, I know she's gorgeous. Look at this face.
April 10, 2013
I've mentioned before how Lizzy is sort of obsessed with poop. There is a whole production regarding picking up Bella's poop, and she loves to tell anyone that will listen about it. It goes like this:
"Bella poops outside. Butt. Yucky, stinky, pee-yew. Gee Gee shovel, put in trash can. Push trash can out (at this point, Lizzy will mimic how she helps push the trash cans out). Big truck, trash can up down."
She has so much to say!
April 13, 2013
What a big day!
Saturday morning we got up, and I asked her if she wanted to go to Gymboree. She kept saying “no” every time I’d ask. How strange! It wasn’t until we were actually en route to Gymboree that she said she wanted to go. Dada wonders if maybe it’s time we find a new activity for her. She did seem to enjoy herself there, but perhaps she's tiring of it?
As we were leaving Saturday morning, backing out of the driveway, we heard her say “Ready, Set, Go!” It was so cute. We went and selected the flavors for her birthday cake – she wanted chocolate on top, so we did that for her, and we did the raspberry sour cream cake with truffle filling on the bottom. I can’t wait to see how it turns out!
After cake tasting and Gymboree, we headed home for what was obviously nap time (when she starts crying about silly things, like a bow not being in her hair, I know she's tired!) After our nap, we decided to go ahead and go to the pool. Dada played with his new underwater video camera, and we got some neat video of her jumping in, and seeing those little legs kick under water! After the pool, we got cleaned up and went to Puccini’s for dinner. She liked my chicken marsala, and the garlic bread. Then Walgreen’s, then Yogi. What a tremendous day!
April 14, 2013
She and I were picking dandelions from the neighbor’s yard. I asked her how many she had brought over to me. She said “three” – sure enough, she had brought me three. Then “five.” This continued for a while. So, when she is counting, she's actually counting QUANTITIES, not just repeating a memorized sequence.
We went to dinner at Ruby Tuesdays, where she stuffed broccoli into her mouth with both hands. I told Dada that we have somehow ended up with the easiest toddler of all time.
She's been saying “oh boy!” when she's excited about something, and “all right” when she is being compliant.
She said “octagon” when we went by a stop sign. She can read the words ice, stop, baby, and open now.
We also taught her to say “That’s no moon. That’s a space station.” It’s so cute!
April 15, 2013
At bath time, she held her hand out to ask for some soap. Normally she she gets soap, it's to wash her body. She started to wash her toy crab. I asked her what she was doing. She said "wash crab butt."
When it was time for bed she, bizarrely, wanted to sleep in her own bed. She has not slept in that bed at night since she was 3 months old. She asked to sleep there, it wasn't my idea. So, I lay with her while she fell asleep, and she proceeded to sleep in there half the night. When she woke up asking for me, I went and got her and she fell right back to sleep. I'm sort of sad - I have so loved co-sleeping. I'm wondering if this was a one-time thing, or the start of a trend.
April 16, 2013
Today was Lizzy's first dance class! Here she is in her dance outfit. I'm sorry the photos are blurry, but she was excited and wouldn't hold still for anything.
I've mentioned before how Lizzy is sort of obsessed with poop. There is a whole production regarding picking up Bella's poop, and she loves to tell anyone that will listen about it. It goes like this:
"Bella poops outside. Butt. Yucky, stinky, pee-yew. Gee Gee shovel, put in trash can. Push trash can out (at this point, Lizzy will mimic how she helps push the trash cans out). Big truck, trash can up down."
She has so much to say!
April 13, 2013
What a big day!
Saturday morning we got up, and I asked her if she wanted to go to Gymboree. She kept saying “no” every time I’d ask. How strange! It wasn’t until we were actually en route to Gymboree that she said she wanted to go. Dada wonders if maybe it’s time we find a new activity for her. She did seem to enjoy herself there, but perhaps she's tiring of it?
As we were leaving Saturday morning, backing out of the driveway, we heard her say “Ready, Set, Go!” It was so cute. We went and selected the flavors for her birthday cake – she wanted chocolate on top, so we did that for her, and we did the raspberry sour cream cake with truffle filling on the bottom. I can’t wait to see how it turns out!
After cake tasting and Gymboree, we headed home for what was obviously nap time (when she starts crying about silly things, like a bow not being in her hair, I know she's tired!) After our nap, we decided to go ahead and go to the pool. Dada played with his new underwater video camera, and we got some neat video of her jumping in, and seeing those little legs kick under water! After the pool, we got cleaned up and went to Puccini’s for dinner. She liked my chicken marsala, and the garlic bread. Then Walgreen’s, then Yogi. What a tremendous day!
April 14, 2013
She and I were picking dandelions from the neighbor’s yard. I asked her how many she had brought over to me. She said “three” – sure enough, she had brought me three. Then “five.” This continued for a while. So, when she is counting, she's actually counting QUANTITIES, not just repeating a memorized sequence.
We went to dinner at Ruby Tuesdays, where she stuffed broccoli into her mouth with both hands. I told Dada that we have somehow ended up with the easiest toddler of all time.
She's been saying “oh boy!” when she's excited about something, and “all right” when she is being compliant.
She said “octagon” when we went by a stop sign. She can read the words ice, stop, baby, and open now.
We also taught her to say “That’s no moon. That’s a space station.” It’s so cute!
April 15, 2013
At bath time, she held her hand out to ask for some soap. Normally she she gets soap, it's to wash her body. She started to wash her toy crab. I asked her what she was doing. She said "wash crab butt."
When it was time for bed she, bizarrely, wanted to sleep in her own bed. She has not slept in that bed at night since she was 3 months old. She asked to sleep there, it wasn't my idea. So, I lay with her while she fell asleep, and she proceeded to sleep in there half the night. When she woke up asking for me, I went and got her and she fell right back to sleep. I'm sort of sad - I have so loved co-sleeping. I'm wondering if this was a one-time thing, or the start of a trend.
April 16, 2013
Today was Lizzy's first dance class! Here she is in her dance outfit. I'm sorry the photos are blurry, but she was excited and wouldn't hold still for anything.
We arrived a few minutes early, and I showed her the room where we would be. She started saying "dance class!" and peeking in the windows. Once the teacher arrived, we went in and it took Lizzy a few minutes to warm up to the new environment and new person. After about 5 minutes, though, she was doing first position, and then she was dancing in a circle and even did a plie!
Some more blurry photos:
Some more blurry photos:
One that's not blurry.
Her favorite part of the class was getting to play with the ribbons. As you can see from the video, she did great!
Dance class
The teacher was very impressed that LIzzy could name all of the colors of the ribbons. She has twins who are one day older than Lizzy, and they don't know any colors yet she said. Lizzy also impressed her by naming several shapes. I didn't mention to the teacher that she can count...and recognize letters...and speak in full sentences...and read a few words...
When class was over, Lizzy didn't want to leave. She wanted to play with the ribbons more. I'm sad because the class likely won't continue, since she was only one of two who had signed up, and we were the only ones there. I'll know by next week if it will be cancelled or not. I am disappointed, because she enjoyed it so.
April 18, 2013
Elizabeth was being so silly tonight. I was trying to brush her teeth, and she kept grabbing the toothbrush from me, saying "I'll do it." She was saying it so funny, too: http://www.viddy.com/jennifervail/v/ill-do-it-ycv6rf
Lately, she's been saying lots of funny phrases, like "you're ridiculous", "gosh darn it", and "oh phooey." Tonight, as we were watching the Big Bang Theory (which she calls "Moon show"), one of the characters said "Oh, come on!"
This led to enormous fits of giggles, and we had to keep replaying that part over and over. Now, "oh, come on!" is added to the repertoire of funny phrases.
Lizzy insisted she sleep in her own bed again, and did so for the first few hours of the evening. My little girl is getting big and independent.
April 19, 2013
Lizzy loves to watch the videos from her first birthday party. At that party, she was wearing a hippo shirt that matched her decorations. I put her in that shirt to sleep tonight. She looked down, pointed at it, and said "Happy day shirt." She remembered it's the same from her birthday.
April 20, 2013
Some Gymboree fun.
April 23, 2013
Finally! Her two bottom molars have broken thorough, both today.
In all, she is very behind with her teeth eruptions, but fortunately they haven't caused her too much pain, at least from what we can tell.
She was singing "LMNOP" in her sleep, from the alphabet song.
She invented something she called a "nunning hug", which is where she lays with her back to me while we cuddle while laying down.
We were watching a nursery rhyme video of the Three Little Kittens who lost their mittens, and they began to cry. This caused our tender-hearted little sweetheart to burst into tears of her own. She was inconsolable for a few minutes. I guess we won't be watching that again!
April 25, 2013
Eb and Gee Gee brought Lizzy home an early "Happy Day" cake so we could celebrate before our vacation. She blew out the candles (which she calls "blow away"), and loved it to much we had to relight and re-sing the song a few times.
As she was eating the cake, she kept saying "Yummy tasty cake." I guess she liked it!
April 27, 2013
What a tremendously fun day! We decided to go to the Muncie Children's Museum, since Dada is in Florida and we wanted something fun to do on this sunny Saturday. It's a smaller museum, but so perfect for Lizzy's age. Everything was hands-on, climbable, or interactive in some way. She played on a tractor, in a train, in a boat, in a "big truck" (semi), saw animals and had a great time. Then, she discovered the little Marsh grocery store. It was a kids-sized grocery setup, complete with carts, food, and registers. Next door was a pretend house setup with a full kitchen. She LOVED this. She played shopping, checked out, took her cart "home", put all the groceries away, then refilled her cart to return to Marsh and check out again. It was a wonderful time!
Dance class
The teacher was very impressed that LIzzy could name all of the colors of the ribbons. She has twins who are one day older than Lizzy, and they don't know any colors yet she said. Lizzy also impressed her by naming several shapes. I didn't mention to the teacher that she can count...and recognize letters...and speak in full sentences...and read a few words...
When class was over, Lizzy didn't want to leave. She wanted to play with the ribbons more. I'm sad because the class likely won't continue, since she was only one of two who had signed up, and we were the only ones there. I'll know by next week if it will be cancelled or not. I am disappointed, because she enjoyed it so.
April 18, 2013
Elizabeth was being so silly tonight. I was trying to brush her teeth, and she kept grabbing the toothbrush from me, saying "I'll do it." She was saying it so funny, too: http://www.viddy.com/jennifervail/v/ill-do-it-ycv6rf
Lately, she's been saying lots of funny phrases, like "you're ridiculous", "gosh darn it", and "oh phooey." Tonight, as we were watching the Big Bang Theory (which she calls "Moon show"), one of the characters said "Oh, come on!"
This led to enormous fits of giggles, and we had to keep replaying that part over and over. Now, "oh, come on!" is added to the repertoire of funny phrases.
Lizzy insisted she sleep in her own bed again, and did so for the first few hours of the evening. My little girl is getting big and independent.
April 19, 2013
Lizzy loves to watch the videos from her first birthday party. At that party, she was wearing a hippo shirt that matched her decorations. I put her in that shirt to sleep tonight. She looked down, pointed at it, and said "Happy day shirt." She remembered it's the same from her birthday.
April 20, 2013
Some Gymboree fun.
April 23, 2013
Finally! Her two bottom molars have broken thorough, both today.
In all, she is very behind with her teeth eruptions, but fortunately they haven't caused her too much pain, at least from what we can tell.
She was singing "LMNOP" in her sleep, from the alphabet song.
She invented something she called a "nunning hug", which is where she lays with her back to me while we cuddle while laying down.
We were watching a nursery rhyme video of the Three Little Kittens who lost their mittens, and they began to cry. This caused our tender-hearted little sweetheart to burst into tears of her own. She was inconsolable for a few minutes. I guess we won't be watching that again!
April 25, 2013
Eb and Gee Gee brought Lizzy home an early "Happy Day" cake so we could celebrate before our vacation. She blew out the candles (which she calls "blow away"), and loved it to much we had to relight and re-sing the song a few times.
As she was eating the cake, she kept saying "Yummy tasty cake." I guess she liked it!
April 27, 2013
What a tremendously fun day! We decided to go to the Muncie Children's Museum, since Dada is in Florida and we wanted something fun to do on this sunny Saturday. It's a smaller museum, but so perfect for Lizzy's age. Everything was hands-on, climbable, or interactive in some way. She played on a tractor, in a train, in a boat, in a "big truck" (semi), saw animals and had a great time. Then, she discovered the little Marsh grocery store. It was a kids-sized grocery setup, complete with carts, food, and registers. Next door was a pretend house setup with a full kitchen. She LOVED this. She played shopping, checked out, took her cart "home", put all the groceries away, then refilled her cart to return to Marsh and check out again. It was a wonderful time!
Playing grocery store
April 28, 2013
Lizzy has decided now that we must call her Karen. She loves the Karen character in Frosty the Snowman, so now she's Karen.
When we got home, she even informed me that her bedroom is "Karen's room."
April 29, 2013
Now it's not just Karen. We have to call her "Captain Karen."
April 30, 2013
She was eating quite voraciously for dinner, so I told her she had a "good appetite." She repeated the phrase once, and I thought nothing else about it.
The next night (May 1) at our first vacation dinner, she looked at me and said "good appetite!" She had a memory like you wouldn't believe. ONE TIME she heard and repeated that phrase, and now she uses it correctly, in context. That's quite a phrase for a 2 year old!
April 28, 2013
Lizzy has decided now that we must call her Karen. She loves the Karen character in Frosty the Snowman, so now she's Karen.
When we got home, she even informed me that her bedroom is "Karen's room."
April 29, 2013
Now it's not just Karen. We have to call her "Captain Karen."
April 30, 2013
She was eating quite voraciously for dinner, so I told her she had a "good appetite." She repeated the phrase once, and I thought nothing else about it.
The next night (May 1) at our first vacation dinner, she looked at me and said "good appetite!" She had a memory like you wouldn't believe. ONE TIME she heard and repeated that phrase, and now she uses it correctly, in context. That's quite a phrase for a 2 year old!